The Parish Church of St Mary and St Eanswythe

Could You Be Our New Priest?

We need a new Priest in Charge to guide us on the next stage of our journey: please click here for the advertisement on the Pathways web site. The Diocesan and Parish Profiles can be downloaded from the advertisement. 

 

 

Fr John at his farewell supper on April 28th, wearing the St Eanswythe’s School Year Six leaver’s sweatshirt presented by the school.

Farewell to Father John Walker

After just over four years we bid farewell and good luck to Fr John on Sunday 28th as he began his well earned retirement and new life in South Wales. He arrived at St Mary & St Eanswythe at the beginning of an exciting time with the culmination of the Eanswythe Found project reporting the results of the forensic examination of the remains in the church, which established beyond reasonable doubt that our relics are those of St Eanswythe. Within a month of that revelation the church was pitched into a new existence in isolation which necessitated both congregation and priest learning new skills, with Fr John leading the way by editing videos, still photos, and audio generated by the congregation and himself into coherent and relevant online worship. Although worship has returned to in-person the fruits of that labour still pay off as local care home residents and others experience the regular Sunday morning Eucharist service on social media. Sadly Fr John fell victim, like so many others, to Covid despite all reasonable precautions and the after effects in the form of Long Covid meant that he was unable to continue to the end of his five year stint as the parish mission priest. His achievements in his time as our priest are the sure foundation of much to come in the future for which we are very grateful, and we look forward to welcoming his return to participate in the culmination of one of those projects when the new reliquary for St Eanswythe’s remains is unveiled, expected to be on the feast of St Eanswythe in September this year.

His own summary of his time with us is in the April 2024 edition of our parish magazine Rendezvous April 2024

 

The Church of St Mary & St Eanswythe, with St Saviour Folkestone, exists to make Jesus Christ known in Folkestone through its worship, its fellowship and its mission. It looks to encourage its members, and the people of the community of which it is a part, to realise their full potential as children of God.

The Royal Kentish Camino: St Mary & St Eanswythe in the News

BBC Kent has covered the new walk between St Martin’s, Canterbury, St Mary and St Ethelburga, Lyminge, and St Mary & St Eanswythe: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cxwvj02jep3o

The Camino is on OS Maps, where you can download a GPX file if you are a subscriber.

Visiting and Services

The church is open for visiting between 11.00 and 13.00 on Wednesdays to Saturdays, and our regular Communion services are at 10.30 on Sundays and Thursdays: details of this week’s services and other new items are here. Please check with the Parish Office if you want to know whether the church is due to be open on a specific day: opening is subject to availability of volunteer welcomers.

Mission and Ministry Priorities

Please click here to read about our mission and ministry priorities over the last four years, and listen to sermons on various aspects of the priorities which our preachers have recorded. 

 
Supporting our Church Financially: The Widow’s Mite Fund
 
We desperately need money: our costs, especially running costs such as heating, are constantly rising and our income is still affected by the consequences of the Pandemic. If you are not able to visit the church to make cash donations or use the planned giving scheme, please donate so that we can keep paying our bills! All donations will be very gratefully received and we can claim Gift Aid if you are a UK tax payer and provide your details when you make your donation. You can donate any amount from £1 upwards through our online donation service provided by givealittle.
 
You can make a single donation online here  Donate or you can download our GiftAid and Donation Form to make a single donation by cheque and allow us to claim Gift Aid.
 
To make regular donations please see our Widow’s Mite Fund appeal. Any regular donation, however small, is invaluable to us.
 
A bronze mite, also known as a Lepton (meaning small), minted by Alexander Jannaeus, King of Judaea, 103 – 76 B.C. and still in circulation at the time of Jesus

Organ Appeal

Our historic organ is in desperate need of major and expensive refurbishment. Please follow our organ appeal web site at https://www.eanswythes-organ.com or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/eanswythesorgan for information about the organ itself and events in support of the appeal.

 

 

Please visit the Choir and Organ page for more information about the choir.